In September, there were 2.1 million unemployed persons who had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer, representing 23.2 percent of the total unemployed. Since November 2001, the proportion of long-term unemployed has increased by about 9 percentage points.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information on current unemployment, see "The Employment Situation: September 2003" (PDF) (TXT), USDL 03-523.